The Philadelphia 76ers are in danger of letting another season slip out of their grips.
They were up 3-0 against the Toronto Raptors but have lost two games in a row and the series is at 3-2 moving back to Canada on Thursday night.
If the 76ers end up losing this series, it will be one of the biggest embarrassments in NBA playoff history.
Philadelphia star Joel Embiid has some thoughts about how the team can turn things around: they need to be more aggressive.
However, it feels like we have seen this story before.
Embiid in April 2021: "I tell him all the time, I want him to be aggressive."
Embiid in April 2022: "I've been saying all season since he got here, he needs to be aggressive." pic.twitter.com/0bSIXwc2f6
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 26, 2022
Speaking about his teammate James Harden, Embiid said, “I’ve been saying all season since he got here, he needs to be aggressive.”
That sounds an awful lot like what Embiid was saying last year about Ben Simmons.
Regarding Simmons, Embiid said in 2021, “I tell him all the time, I want him to be aggressive.”
Does Embiid have a point – and will anyone listen?
Be Aggressive
Embiid has been begging his peers to play harder for a while now.
Harden should really be listening and taking note because Embiid’s demands aren’t unreasonable.
In the regular season, Harden was averaging 24.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.8 assists.
However, things have changed in the playoffs and he’s now putting up 18.4 points and 4.8 rebounds while stepping up his assists to 9.2.
While the increase in assists is nice, he needs to do more about finding buckets.
He has long been known as a sharp-shooting threat in the league but lately, he hasn’t been looking like it.
Sadly, this is just another instance of Harden seemingly giving up when the postseason begins.
One of the biggest critiques about him is that he gasses out at the start of the playoffs.
In other words, he needs more aggressiveness, just like Embiid said.
NEXT: Should The 76ers Regret Trading For James Harden?